The bloggers at D33 are excited about an upcoming conference this Thursday, April 27, at McMaster Divinity College called Secularism and the Pursuit of Transcendence: A Church and Culture Conference. From the website:

We live in what has been called “a secular age.” What are the implications of secularism for the pursuit of transcendence? Is God still able to break through the mundane or is he confined to immanence? And are people able to grasp the ineffable in the midst of the common? This conference will bring together pastors and other ministry professionals, theologians, philosophers, sociologists, and anyone interested in contemplating what is meant by transcendence, how it is experienced, and how it is expressed, in the midst of competing secular interests.

Join us for this one-day conference on Thursday, April 27, 2023. We are excited to have Dr. Christina M. Gschwandtner as our plenary speaker. Christina is a leading philosopher at Fordham University in New York City. We will also hear pre-recorded sessions from Dr. Charles Taylor, Dr. Merold Westphal, and Dr. Robert Wuthnow, and a closing plenary address by Dr. Stanley Porter. We have 45 presenters for our parallel sessions speaking on a variety of topics including church and culture, patristics, theology, literature, the arts, and the Bible.

The bios of the plenary speakers are found here.

Aside from Stan’s closing plenary address entitled “Secularism and the Pursuit of Transcendence: What Have We Pursued, and Have We Caught it?” he is presenting another paper in a parallel session entitled “Metaphor and Transcendence.” Dave is also presenting a paper in a parallel session entitled “Spiritual but Not Religious: A New Kind of Secularism.” Abstracts of all parallel sessions can be found here.

Those in the Hamilton area who have not yet signed up for the conference can still sign up on the conference website. We look forward to a fruitful day of thinking, discussing, and envisioning how the transcendence of God is still relevant not only for the 21st century church but also for the world surrounding it.

— David I. Yoon